The present invention generally relates to a baler tie feed apparatus useful in conjunction with a baler used to compact loose material, such as trash, refuse and recyclables, into dense, compact bales. The invention has specific utility in tying a bale of compacted material to maintain its compacted size and shape once the bale is discharged from the baler.
It is well known to compact loose material by means of a refuse or recycling baler into dense, tightly packed bales to facilitate the transfer, storage, disposal and/or recycling of such material. The types of material which may be so compacted range from agricultural products, such as straw, hay, cotton and the like, to trash, refuse and recyclables. For the purpose of this discussion, the material will be referred to as trash, refuse or recyclables, although it will be apparent that the present invention has utility with respect to the compaction of such other materials as well.
Such balers typically consist of a hopper into which the material to be compacted is deposited, a compaction chamber in which the bale of compacted material is formed and a ram or platen which is activated to move the material from the hopper into the compaction chamber in which the material is compacted into a compact, dense bale. Once a bale is so formed, the platen is withdrawn and the bale discharged from the compaction chamber. Upon discharge from the compaction chamber, however, the compacted material in the bale will not maintain its shape, but tends to expand and increase in size. It is well known to tie the compacted bale with various media (such as twine, string, wire and metal banding) to minimize the size of the bale for handling, transfer, storage and/or disposal.
A number of different tying arrangements have been utilized for this purpose. The most basic tying arrangement includes manually wrapping the tying media around the bale after the bale is released from the baler and securing the opposed ends of the tying media once the bale is so wrapped. Since the material in the bale expands fairly quickly once the bale is removed from the baler, it is important to complete such manual wrapping as soon as possible to keep the expansion of the bale to a minimum. It is inevitable that some expansion will occur, however, no matter how quickly the bale is wrapped.
To solve the problems inherent with wrapping the bale manually after it is removed from the baler, it has been known to provide various means to wrap the bale while it is still in the baler and before it has an opportunity to expand. The primary challenge to be overcome in so doing is to wrap the bale with tying media while the bale is still located within the structure of the compaction chamber and the platen is in place. The prior art devices typically involve providing channels or openings within the compaction chamber and platen through which the tying media may be threaded to encircle the bale while the bale is in its most compacted form and prior to discharging the bale from the baler. These prior art solutions present their own set of problems, however.
One example of such prior art bale wrapping devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,364 to Freund. In that instance, a wire carrier is disclosed which moves partially around the bale to wrap a number of baling wires around the bale once formed. Once the baling wires have encircled the bale, a wire twisting mechanism is activated to twist the opposed ends of the baling wires to tighten and secure them.
Another example of such prior art bale wrapping devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,599 to Ulrich. In that instance, a baler is provided in which channels or grooves are provided in the bottom of the ram (platen), rear and floor of the baler. The channels or grooves are aligned to define continuous channels or grooves around three sides of the bale. Once the bale is formed, the door is opened and a “fish tool” is inserted into each channel to draw a number of wires or cords around three sides of the bale. Once so drawn around the bale, the opposed ends of the wires or cords are tied to secure the bale.
Another example of the prior art bale wrapping devices is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,969 to Anthony. In this instance, a number of wedge-shaped, bale compression members are provided on the inner faces of opposed platens which cause compressed areas in a cotton bale as the same is being formed. Wires are threaded through the recesses in the compression members to encircle the bale. Once the opposed ends of the wires are secured, the platens are withdrawn and the wires remain in place around the bale by passing out of the recesses through an opening.
Still yet another example of the bale wrapping devices of the prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,307 to Daniel et al. In this instance, a bale encircling, movable guide track is provided having opposed sections defining a wire receiving groove. Once the guide track is in place, a wire is passed through the groove to encircle the bale. The opposed ends of the wire are secured by twisting, and the wire is tensioned to pull the wire from between the opposed sections of the guide track. At that point, the movable portions of the guide track are removed to leave the wire tied around the bale.
All of the prior art devices utilize complicated, detailed mechanisms which are expensive to construct and maintain.